Chile is the main exporter of table grapes in the world. Last season Chile sent 700,799 tons of fresh grapes to different destinations. The United States and Canada accounted about 50% of total shipments, as they received 336,874 tons of grapes.
Given the importance of this sector for the US market, a group of representatives of major retail chains in the US and in Canada recently visited Chile, where they had the opportunity to get to know the work of the Fruit Technology Consortium, and specifically of its Genetic Improvement of Table Grapes Program (PMG).
To date, the Fruit Technology Consortium has carried out five Improvement Programs (PMGs) for cherries, raspberries, stone fruit, apples, and table grapes, to develop their own fruit varieties. In the case of table grapes, these varieties must have a good size, color, sweetness, consistency, a good post-harvest, and be resistant to powdery mildew. It might sound like an ambitious goal, but researchers are on the right track, as the delegation, which was made up by Tom Williams, Director of Produce & Floral Merchandising Coborn's Inc. from Minnesota; John Jaker, VP of Marketing and Merchandising of Charlie's Produce in Seattle; Ian Leaf, Category Manager Produce Montreal; Mimmo Frazone, Director of Produce & Flora at Longo's in Ontario; and Mathew Tate, Director of Produce Procurement at Aramark in Philadelphia, could see.
The visitors went to the table grape research fields of the PMG, located in Curacavi, and they were impressed with the work being done there. We want to be the first clients to have these new varieties on our shelves, they said.
"Our market is always eager for new varieties, especially in an important sector, such as table grapes. We are continually looking for varieties that meet certain parameters of taste, not only ones that can satisfy our consumers but that are also unique," stated John Jaker, VP of Marketing and Merchandising of Charlie's Produce in Seattle.
Jaker added: "Chile is a major supplier of table grapes in a period in which we do not have a production. I'm glad to find out that the Sweet Celebration and Moscatel varieties are some of the productions growing in Chile. I'm also glad to know that they are seeking to develop their own varieties, because it is what the market expects."
Tom Williams, the Director of Produce & Floral Merchandising at Coborn's Inc. of Minnesota, said: "This visit exceeded the expectations I had before arriving here. It is a very beautiful country. It has a variety of landscapes, cultures, and climates. However, what impressed me the most was the passion that producers have to deliver good quality products, and to share them with the world."
Regarding the new developments, Williams said: "Nowadays, everyone is looking for something different to offer their consumers. Especially to please a growing population of Millennials, who increasingly demand better tasting products. That is what we are also focused on, finding the product that has that flavor, and programs like this one are very interesting in this sense."
According to Consuelo Medina, a biologist who is part of the Table Grape Breeding Program team, there are currently 19 outstanding advanced selections of table grapes being developed by the program, some of which have a high potential to become future varieties.
The program has been developing for eight years and is expected to yield two new varieties of high quality table grapes that are resistant to powdery mildew in two to three years. "This year, we will begin to evaluate three selections of grapes in four areas of commercial production that have different weather and agricultural conditions; specifically in the regions of Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Metropolitan, and O'Higgins. This will allow us to analyze how each selection behaves under different production conditions," said Maria Fernanda Alvarez, Coordinator of the Fruit Technology Consortium.
Alvarez said that the work done by the Table Grape Breeding Program was the result of having a committed team, which is led by Dr. Patricio Arce, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. During the 2015-2016 season, they grew more than 10,700 (hybrid) plants in the research field. Their behavior is constantly checked by a professional team, in order to assess their potential.
The professional also said the program had a cold chamber in which they stored the fruit to evaluate the behavior of the freshly harvested products, and the products that have undergone a packaging process, to simulate conditions when it is being shipped to distant markets. Thus, researchers can analyze how the fruit will respond to this process and select the fruit best suited for this purpose.
Finally, the professional said that the Fruit Consortium has developed its work with private and the State contributions, through Corfo.
Source: simfruit.cl